The Library Connection

The Monthly Newsletter of the Eastern Shores Library System
www.esls.lib.wi.us

Volume 27 Number 7   July 2007

Click here for the Summer 2007 Bookmobile Schedule

Cedarburg Public Library Receives Donation

From an article by Renira Pachuta, Ozaukee County News Graphic

Faces of Freedom, a collection of stories about members of our armed forces, who lost their lives in Iraq or Afghanistan was presented to Mary Marquardt, Director of Cedarburg Public Library, by Valerie A. Nichols.  Nichols, who grew up in Cedarburg, contributed two stories to the collection.  “I was honored and humbled to be able to interview two families who lost a loved one in Iraq," Nichols states.  

Service men and women from all 50 states and Puerto Rico are represented in Faces of Freedom.  Nichols writes about Army Spc. Michelle M. Witmer of New Berlin, Wisconsin.  Spc. Witmer was the first female national guard ever killed in action and the 16^th Wisconsin soldier killed in Iraq.  She died in Badhdad on April 9, 2004.  Nichols second contribution memorializes Marine Corporal Michael Halal, from Phoenix, Arizona who was killed during his second deployment to Iraq.  Halal was killed while working a combat patrol on September 13, 2004. 

Contributors to Faces of Freedom, include “Nationally acclaimed authors, military veterans and print and broadcast journalists," writes Rebecca Pepin, editor of the project.  Pepin also acknowledged that the contributing authors donated their services.  The proceeds from the sales of the project will be donated to two organizations that help wounded veterans and their families; Fisher House (www.fisherhouse.org) and Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org).   Information on ordering the book can be found at http://www.wentworthprinting.com/facesoffreedom/.

The I & E Club

Jill Gilbert Welytok, is a patent attorney and author who is the facilitator of the Ozaukee/Northshore Inventors' and Entrepreneurs' Forum.

Every fourth Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. there is an economic development project that is having a ripple effect throughout the state of Wisconsin and bringing dollars into the state.

For just about a year now, the Northshore Inventors and Entrepreneurs' Forum has met at the Frank L. Weyenburg Public Library in Mequon. The "I&E Club" has become a gathering place for inventors, patent attorneys, investors, overseas and domestic manufacturers and product marketing representatives.  More than 70 inventors attended the last meeting, some driving from as far as Green Bay and Eau Claire. Library staff have stayed overtime to make it happen. 

Reference librarians have stepped up to plate to find the resources needed to inspire inventors to produce their products, perfect their prototypes and seen launch products and businesses that bring dollars into Wisconsin. They have been known to stay well past their quitting time to enthusiastically assist budding entrepreneurs how to leverage library resources to valuable market and production research.

Although the economic impact of the I&E Club library program has yet to be quantified, it supporting the library system is perhaps one of the best economic investments our state can make. It is ground zero for launching businesses and products in our community. The library is where skills are taught on a walk-in basis, marketing research occurs and answers are available.

Job training programs have limited success and satisfaction. Few can be tailored to the aspirations of an individual. Fewer yet are geared toward creative professionals in our community who want to take ideas to the next level.

The type of entrepreneurial environment our legislators have been trying to foster for decades is taking place at the local library.

Here as some ideas that are launching from behind the bookshelves:

The library is a minimal economic investment for the state to bring a community together and provide individualized assistance to anyone with an idea.

The next meeting will be in September  See www.milwaukeepatents.com <http://www.milwaukeepatents.com/> for more information.

The blog: 
<http://mequonnow.com/blog/index.aspx?blogid=317&month=06&year=2007&entryid=39961> 

Children's Librarians Corner

Summer Reading Theme Programs

Trixine Tahtinen, Oostburg Public Library

This year's summer reading theme, "Get a clue" was a great opportunity to introduce kids to some of the mystery series they may not have discovered on their own. As we learned form Patti Sinclair in our spring workshop, reading mysteries are wonderful for reading skills development plus mysteries are my own personal favorite reading choice. So we had several weekly programs this summer, each based on different children's mystery series. 

Doing a series themed program is easy, cost effective and can help boost those circulation figures. For the younger kids we did Cam Jansen and Nate the Great based programs and for the older kids we did Hank the Cowdog and Boxcar Children programs.

For the Cam Jansen and the Nate the Great programs we had several of the books on display, book talked some of the titles, and shared one of the titles. Each program included a theme related craft. For Can Jansen we made tissue paper binoculars and for Nate the Great we made the deerstalker hat and magnifying glass from the Nate the Great website.

For the Hank the Cowdog and the Boxcar Children programs we had activities such as trivia quizzes and mad libs.  We book talked some of the titles and made a related craft. For the boxcar children program we collected shoe boxes ahead of time (a local shoe store was willing to save them for us plus we put a sign up at the desk asking patrons for shoe boxes). Each child made a "boxcar" diorama. The only instructions we gave them was to design a boxcar that would be one they would want to live in. They were very creative.  One  'boxcar' even had tube cannons to keep away trespassers.

In these days of soaring costs of performers and dwindling budgets, these in-house programs have proven to be popular and definitely a way to tie the program to books, increase our circulation and be more interactive for the kids.

Updated Spanish Language Parent-Child Early Literacy

Mary Maddox, Learning Systems

The Spanish early literacy parent-child activity materials have been updated.  These are free reproducible language and early literacy activities in English and Spanish. The updates include more colloquial Spanish, and other editing.  The translators who conducted the revisions are from the Jose Marti Child Development Center, El Centro de la Raze, Seattle, WA.

The development of these materials was supported by Grant H324M020084 from the U.S. Department of Education , Office of Special Education Programs. They were developed by Angela Notari-Syverson, Ph.D. and Kristin Ritter, PhD, with Judy Challenger, Faith Hearting Sadler, Young Soak Lim, Ph.D., Marilyn Sturm, and Rod Headland. 

These materials include forty-six home and community activities for adults and preschool children that encourage early language and literacy development in young children.  They are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.

Each of the forty-six activities includes 1)  An activity description, 2)  Hints for making the activity fun and developmentally appropriate, and 3)  A brief self-evaluation form that cues parents and other caregivers to notice their children's skills, and also cue adults to examine and grow their own interactions with their children.

The materials are specifically designed to address the three key skills of 1) language development, 2) phonological awareness, and 3) general print awareness.

The files are in PDF format to allow easy and secure downloading.  Five files for each language (Spanish and English) include:
·        Table of contents listing the 46 activities
·        Level 1 activities (activities designed for developmentally younger children)
·        Level 2 activities (activities that include a stronger focus on print)
·        Level 3 activities (activities that focus on more complex language use)
·        A brief activity self-evaluation form

The materials may be copied and distributed as long as they are not sold.

*To download materials go to www.walearning.com  and click on the purple button that says "Free Parent Education Handouts" on the home page.* 

They anticipate having early math materials and other downloads in the Fall.  For questions contact  Mary Maddox, Washington Learning Systems, 2212 Queen Anne Ave. No. Ste. 726 Seattle, WA 98109; (206) 310-7401   FAX (206) 283-9243  <mailto:mmaddox@walearning.com>
 

Plymouth Public Library Hosts Hospice Program

Tanya Smith and Lorraine Pashley of St. Nicholas Home Hospice will present a program to librarians on September 7, 2007.   St. Nicholas Home Hospice is an agency within the St. Nicholas Hospital that provides end of life care to those in our community that are facing life limiting illnesses.  Tanya Smith is a registered nurse with 10 years experience in this field and a Hospice and Palliative certified nurse.  She holds the position of Hospice Coordinator.  Her co-presenter will be Lorraine Pashley.  Lorraine is the Hospice Liaison Nurse for the agency.  She is responsible for processing all Hospice referrals, ensuring continued relations with the community, and a resource person for the hospital staff and the community.  Lorraine specialized in community education.  She has been involved in end of life care for more than 13 years. 

Smith and Pashley’s presentation will help librarians understand the role hospice plays in our communities and suggest ways that librarians can provide service to individuals in hospice care or to their friends and families.  Their presentation is part of LSTA Grant, ESLS=Extending the Services of Libraries to Seniors. 

The program is being held in the meeting room at Plymouth Public Library at 9:30, Friday, September 7.  The program is open to the public.  A similar program will be held in Ozaukee County. 

August Is...

www.earthcalendar.net

Wondering what to do for displays during the lazy, hazy, days of summer. Perhaps some of these will help you build a display:

Batting for Literacy @ Your Library

Megan McFarlane, Coordinator, @ your library, The Campaign for America’s Libraries
[prtalk]

If your library is promoting literacy or library services to children, young adults or adults and using a baseball-related theme you may be eligible for the “Batting for literacy @ your library” award.   The winner will earn a trip to the 2008 Baseball Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, New York.   A behind-the-scenes tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum and Library is part of the prize. 

Nominate yourself or a colleague by September 1, 2007.  A one-page description of how the theme was used and examples of baseball-related programming and publicity for programming must be included in the application.   Complete guidelines and an application are available at www.ala.org/baseballaward.   Nominees must be ALA members to be eligible.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is a Founding Partner in The Campaign for America’s Libraries.  The “Batting for Literacy” award is part of the Step Up to the Plate @ your Library promotion.  For more information on “Step up” go to www.ala.org/baseball.

Interesting Items

*September is library card sign up month. ALA has announced that Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, has been named as the spokesperson. For more information visit  http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/otherinit/card/librarycard.htm 

*The following sessions will be presented via WisLine web conferencing. All that's necessary to participate is a computer with internet access to view the presentation and a telephone to hear the audio.  Register at: http://www.uwex.edu/ics/wlwreg/wlwwelcome.cfm
From the welcome page, select the sponsoring organization WI DPI, and then scroll down to the relevant session title and click on the date.

If you've used the service before, login to the system by entering your username and password. If you've never used the system, just click on the "Sign up" link to set up a new account. After logging in, your account information is displayed on the registration page.  After submitting your registration, you'll receive a web page confirmation containing the information you submitted and instructions for entering the web conference. You can print the page at this point or follow the links for further information. You'll also receive an email confirmation for your records.

Patron Initiated ILL - Orientation for Library Staff Users - (60 min.) August 7 (Tuesday) 10-11:00 a.m.
Patron-Initiated requesting allows patrons/users to create their own ILL requests in WISCAT.  This session will explain how a library's patrons/users create their own ILL requests in the WISCAT union catalog and track them in AGent.  Training will show how the library ILL staff manages and mediates those requests in WISCAT.

WISCAT Orientation (not Interlibrary Loan) - (60 min.)
August 23 (Thursday) 3-4:00 p.m. or September 19 (Wednesday) 4-5:00 p.m.
An introductory orientation for library staff new to using WISCAT.  Basics of searching WISCAT; adding/deleting/modifying holdings on a WISCAT record; selecting preferences for staff and public interfaces.  (Interlibrary Loan orientation is covered in a separate session)

* This year’s Keynote speaker for WLA ( October 16 - 19) will be author and Pulitzer Prize Winner, David Maraniss.  Mr. Maraniss promises to be extremely entertaining!  He is the author of last year’s best-selling book, Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero.  He has also written First in his Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton; and the Pulitzer winner: They Marched into Sunlight: War, Peace, and America 1967. Speaking at the Green Bay Conference, you can't help but remember his award-winning book, When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi.

* Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, written by Ann Bausum of Beloit and published by National Geographic, has been selected winner of the 2007 Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award by the Children’s Book Award Committee of the Wisconsin Library Association’s Youth Services Section. The Award is given annually to the most distinguished work in literature for children written and/or illustrated by a Wisconsin book creator.

*Neat New Stuff and ExLibris

The How-To Geek http://www.howtogeek.com/
Drawing on his own experiences and questions from readers, the geek offers and archives how-to advice on many software and programming problems. The site also includes several blogs. RSS feed is available.

*According to Chester Elton, author of The Carrot Principle, managers should be specific in their praise. Telling a staff member they went the extra mile in a specific circumstance has higher impact than just telling them they are doing a great job all the time. http://www.somethingyoushouldknow.net/transcript07_09_07.htm  

* At the request of the Youth Services Section (YSS) of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), the Division is collaborating with ten Systems to offer a fall Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Training. This will take place on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay, the day before the WLA Conference. 

* As Harry Potter's saga ends with the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on July 21, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), of (ALA), has prepared a list of read-alikes and resources. Check out the 2008 Popular Paperbacks YA list "Magic in the Real World" as a starting point for Harry read-alikes. This list of recommended reading is meant to encourage teens to imagine what life would be like if magic really existed.

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